


The Failure of the Bosemani Rainbows

by writingandchocolatemilk



Series: GiriPan Oneshots [5]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fish, Fish Competition, Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 03:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7343650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingandchocolatemilk/pseuds/writingandchocolatemilk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heracles' eyes passed over Kiku, then snapped back to him. "Kiku," he greeted, wandering over. "I was worried you weren't going to be here."</p><p>"Yes, well." Kiku forced himself to be polite. "That's a wonderful tank you have, Heracles. Your…" Kiku wanted to cry. "Your fish look particularly vibrant."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Failure of the Bosemani Rainbows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shy-germany](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=shy-germany).



Kiku's first fish was a betta fish he got for his tenth birthday.

It died two weeks after he got it, and Kiku was determined to never let it happen again.

* * *

Heracles' first fish tank was something he did not ask for.

He mentioned to his at-the-time girlfriend that he would love to get some fish.

Heracles had meant sushi.

The at-the-time girlfriend bought him a sixty-gallon tank, complete with filters, sand, lights, and a really killer piece of driftwood.

This cost about five-hundred dollars.

Heracles might have been banging a sugar momma'.

* * *

The bosemani rainbows were a disgrace.

Kiku had gotten them too late, and despite his best efforts, he couldn't get their color to pop. Kiku had planned for the aquascape of his tank to be dark and for the bosemani to be the brightest thing.

But they were brown and sad and now the tank was also a disgrace.

Kiku stared, palm covering his mouth. He couldn't believe he had paid one hundred bucks for his bosemani to embarrass him like this.

The tank was a simple twenty-gallon, something he would mess with for competitions. The log was dark, looked almost burned. The only splashes of color there was supposed to be—other than the bosemani—were a couple of green plants on either side of the log.

But those were brown around the edges.

"Kiku, dude!"

This day was progressively getting worse.

"Hello, Alfred."

Alfred's camera swung around like a third eye. "Kiku is most well-read little competitions about fish! He got a neat second in the—what was it, the fish color one? Yeah, his fish were beautiful, good verity. I guess he'll be going up against his arch nemesis—"

This day was officially the worst.

"Karpusi is here?" Kiku asked sharply.

"Who?"

Kiku refrained—barely—from sighing. "Heracles Karpusi. Is he here?"

Alfred perked. "Oh, shit man, he's totally here! He—where are you going?"

Kiku walked neatly though the crowd. Granted, it wasn't  _much_  of a crowd, because it was an aquascape and fish competition, but still. All he had to do was follow the stream of people and there Karpusi was.

Heracles was milling about, giving one-word answers about his tank.

It was a glorious tank.

Heracles' eyes passed over Kiku, then snapped back to him. "Kiku," he greeted, wandering over. "I was worried you weren't going to be here."

"Yes, well." Kiku forced himself to be polite. "That's a wonderful tank you have, Heracles. Your…" Kiku wanted to cry. "Your fish look particularly vibrant."

Heracles looked lazily over his shoulder. "Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess so. How have you been?"

"Is there any food you use that creates such a color? Your emerald corys are the brightest I've ever seen." Kiku wanted to press his face against the glass of the tank. "And your honey gourami are beautiful. Fantastically yellow."

"No, I just sort of feed them whatever. Sometimes I'll throw in some… stuff I find on the ground. They like that. And worms."

Kiku slowly looked at him. "Stuff off the ground?"

Heracles nodded. "Green stuff. I find it in my backyard. You could come over and I could show you."

"That's extremely unsafe for the health of your fish," Kiku said, looking from Heracles to the tank.

How those fish weren't dead were beyond him. Sometimes, Kiku's angel fish would refuse to eat and starve to death. Plus, Kiku had tried every combination of food, including making his own, but nothing could compare.

"Oh, no, I don't think so." Heracles shrugged. "They like it. What are you doing during the judging?"

Losing.

Kiku's eyes were still glued on Heracles' tank. "I don't have anything planned."

"You seem tired."

"Yes, well, the tank set up and the drive over here last…" Kiku looked back at Heracles. "I am just intent on knowing the winner of the competition. My tank did not turn out as planned. My rainbow bosemani are disappointing."

Heracles nodded. "Let me see."

Kiku blinked. "I'm sorry?"

Heracles was already walking. "I'm going to see your fish tank."

"Ah!" Kiku hurried after him. "No, please, it would be disgraceful to see mine after creating—"

"Is this it?"

Kiku wanted to cry again. He could lie. He could say it  _wasn't_  his tank, even though his first and last name was on a paper plaque on the same table.

"Yes, it is."

Heracles bent close, eyes half closed. "Hm. I can see what you were trying to do…"

Kiku's heart rose a little in his chest. "Oh?"

Heracles nodded slowly. "Yes… You wanted to show the judges you really like black."

Kiku deflated. "No. I was trying to create a black landscape, with the bosemani being the brightest things in the tank. Unfortunately… that is not what occurred. It is why I asked about your food blend."

"Oh. Well, I told you."

"'Green stuff' isn't a food blend."

Heracles nodded. "Want to get a coffee?"

Kiku neared his tank. "And I suppose I put my plants through too much—"

"You know what you need?" Heracles asked.

Heracles was not being very supportive of Kiku's fish tank woes. "I do not."

"Fish juju."

Kiku needed more sleep. "I'm sorry?"

Heracles pointed. "Fish juju. You're stressing too much about your fish, and your tanks are suffering because of it. You need to forget about your tanks, and go get a coffee or some brunch with me."

"I don't think that is a proper way to raise a fish tank."

Heracles tapped on the glass, nearly gave Kiku a heart attack. "No, trust me. I really don't try to make my tanks beautiful or whatever. I just throw stuff in, pick random fish, and it just works out. You stress too much."

Kiku was hallucinating. "You… throw stuff in?"

"Oh, yeah. Couldn't care less about my fish tanks."

"You are one of the most—you are very, very well-regarded by the aquascaping community. I admire you. You're saying—"

"The only reason I come to these things is because they give out Petco gift cards and I buy toys for my cats with them." Heracles shrugged. "And because I see you, sometimes."

Kiku needed to sit down. "So… your tanks are  _accidents_?"

Heracles nodded. "You look tired. Want to grab a coffee with me?"

* * *

Heracles had been trying for  _months_ to get with Kiku.

These fish competitions were insanely boring. It was sort of fun seeing everybody else's fish tanks, but there were only so many ways to arrange tree branches and fish and sand.

But finally _—finally_ —there was hope.

* * *

Kiku stared at Heracles as he took a sip of coffee. "You only started two years ago? You're a legend."

"Fish juju. It's because I don't care, I'm telling you."

**Author's Note:**

>  **Shy-germany said :** Ahhh Im sorry to bother you but if requests are open could you maybe write some giripan, maybe just maybe a continuation of that highschool au where emo!kiku and Herc hooked up at the party? I know, it’s been like, years, but it’s still one of my favorite fics ever
> 
>  
> 
> **I did not do that prompt.**


End file.
